MDEC PLANS TO LEVERAGE ON THE MALAYSIAN BRAND TO GAIN A STRONG FOOTHOLD IN

From Christine Lim

SHANGHAI, Nov 28 (Bernama)-- The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC),
plans to leverage on the Malaysian brand to gain a strong foothold in the
Chinese information communication technology (ICT)market.

The MDEC is the agency spearheading Malaysia's ICT initiatives.

MDEC's chief executive officer, Badlisham Ghazali said while there may be
risks and challenges in the Chinese ICT market, Malaysia's success and
recognition in other markets such as the Middle East, would provide some major
breakthroughs in establishing a powerful brand name in the country.

"We will carry the Malaysian brand name to China. Our focus will also be on
building partnerships between Malaysian and Chinese companies, especially among
the small and medium enterprises," Badlisham said during a meeting with
the Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Fadillah Yusof at the
MDEC office in Shanghai Wednesday.

The meeting was in conjunction with the "MSC Malaysia Goes Global in China"
campaign in Shanghai led by MDEC and the Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation.

Badlisham emphasised that while there was a danger of running into some
"barracudas" in any business deals in China, such threats were limited with
MDEC's status as a Malaysian government agency.

Fadillah also raised the issue of intellectual property in China and of the
dangers of Malaysian companies being involved in the infringement of rights in
their tie-up with Chinese partners who may be involved in such an act.

Badlisham said MDEC had the capacity to take such issues to a
government-to-government level and thus be able to address it much more
effectively.

Inspite of the many challenges and risks in the Chinese ICT market,
Badlisham said, it was still very interesting.

The Director of Business and Market Development MDEC, Rob Cayzer said the
Chinese ICT market which is worth approximately US$400 billion, will propbably
overtake Japan by next year.

"A major chunk of the ICT market in China is dominated by mobile companies
which require a lot of technology and infrastructure.

"The other growth market for the ICT industry in China is government and
finance," Cayzer said.

China's transformation from an industrial-based to services industries,
Cayzer emphasized, will also accelerate its growth in the ICT sector.

Driving the growth, according to Cayzer, is the demand for cost-effective
solutions.

Shanghai, Cayzer noted, represents about 20 percent of the ICT business in
China.

However, MDEC will be selective as to the Malaysian companies it plans to
bring into China.

"We are focussing on 48 Malaysian companies whom we would like to groom to
do business in China," Badlisham said.

Meanwhile, at an earlier press conference with the Chinese media, Fadillah
called on China to play a more aggressive role in nurturing the
developing countries of Asia as this would help stabilise the regions
economy.

In terms of incentives for Chinese enterprises in Malaysia, the director
and
investment consul of the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) in
Shanghai, Lee Yong Ming said there was a policy to encourage investment in the
country and this included tax breaks for priority sectors and full management
control of projects.
- BERNAMA